Designed as a crossover vehicle that will take on the more traditional five-door hatchbacks, the P32L, as the car's codenamed, will go on sale early next year.

Insiders point to the concept car's butch 4x4 styling being toned down a little, and one company source described the P32L as a "mini-Murano", referring to the company's 4x4.

The car will be available mainly in front-wheel drive form, but four-wheel drive will be available on top-spec models. Although Nissan currently has the Almera competing in the lower-medium segment, sales are 73.4% down in the fleet market over the first half of this year thanks to the company chopping the range back to a single petrol model because the diesel didn't meet Euro4 regulations.

Subscribe